I'm Sorry, I Can't
by WriterFreak001
Summary: "I tried to hate you, to forgive you, all just to forget you, but I'm only capable of loving you. You're tattooed onto my skin, and the more I try to erase you, the deeper you sink in." ― Llarjme, Missing Variables
1. Chapter 1

**I want this to happen on the show, but since it probably won't, I'm putting my imagination into play. This two-part story will be super angsty, but I promise there will be an uplifting ending. :)**

* * *

 **I'm Sorry. I Can't.**

 **Written by WriterFreak001**

 **Part 1**

 **~ S** **CORPION ~**

* * *

"I tried to hate you, to forgive you, all just to forget you, but I'm only capable of loving you. You're tattooed onto my skin, and the more I try to erase you, the deeper you sink in." ― Llarjme, _Missing Variables_

* * *

Paige never wanted to see that stupid jerk's face ever again.

How _dare_ he integrate himself into her life, make her feel special and appreciated, make her think he wanted a future with her, make her believe there was something more to their relationship than comfort and companionship _only_ to head off to a different country for a new job opportunity and destroy her trust, destroy their relationship, destroy everything she's sacrificed to be with him in a matter of weeks! How DARE he?!

How dare he toy with her emotions and use her the way he did?! How dare he show any affection towards her and her son and make them think things could work, when, obviously, he only cared about having the sex she never gave him! In any of the months they had been together, Paige tried to move on with him and tried to be a satisfying sexual partner, but when it came down to them on the bed, making out with him on top of her, her underneath him, she was never able to follow through; no matter how many times she tried to convince herself that she should _want_ to be with Tim in an intimate capacity, she could never force herself to ever want him in that way.

BUT STILL, BOYFRIENDS DO NOT CHEAT ON THEIR GIRLFRIENDS. PERIOD.

She didn't _care_ if he was sexually frustrated, or if he thought he needed an escort to release that tension with! He _shouldn't_ have cheated on her! She would have gotten there, _eventually_ , but walking away from love was not something she could have done overnight, and though she's been in a relationship with Tim for many months, her feelings for Walter were deeper than she realized, and she just… she couldn't completely give herself to Tim when she still loved another man.

Tim _knew_ she had a complicated history with Walter; he _knew_ she still had feelings for him, and he still stared right into her eyes and told her he was okay with moving slow and waiting for her to be ready for him, but OHHH NO!

He just couldn't live up to that promise, could he?!

Paige inhaled deeply and rubbed her eyes, grateful her son was out for the night with Sylvester to witness the chaos and disarray of her broken heart. She might have not loved Tim, not in a way she loves Walter, but Tim had given her a small glimmer of hope that she could possibly move on with him… that she could – one day – love him, but it was now apparent that he never saw them having a future together. She was just a pastime to him, nothing more.

If she ever saw him again, he would regret messing with her heart and thinking it was okay to play with her emotions when he _knew_ she had feelings for Walter. She hated him! She absolutely hated him! How could she let herself fall for his charm so easily? She and Walter _could have been together by now._ They could be dating and happy and so in love, but she had ruined any chance of ever being with him by dating another man, continuously and ceaselessly breaking Walter's heart every time she kissed or hugged Tim in front of him.

Flaunting Tim wasn't done intentionally, but subconsciously, she guessed, she wanted Walter to see what he was missing, and maybe she had lead Tim on at first, but the more she was with him, the more he seemed undeniably perfect. He was everything she ever wanted in a man, growing up, but she knew now that Walter was _more_ than just everything to her.

Paige buried her face into her hands and stifled a sob.

She was such an idiot. A stupid, stupid idiot, and she hated herself for it because the one man she would want to share her life with wouldn't want to be with her anymore. She had pushed him away, and she had no right to bring him back. Not after the way she had treated him.

Walter O'Brien didn't deserve her, and it wouldn't be fair for Paige to tell him how she feels with how she treated him.

No matter how much she still loved him, no matter how much she wanted to be the one he kissed at night and cuddled with whenever he wanted, any relationship with Walter would never happen.

He would never trust her again if he found out about space, and that possibility scared her more than anything else. A life without Walter – in any capacity – wasn't something she would ever want to experience. She loved him way too much.

Paige gathered her legs into her arms and buried her face against her knees, crying deeply but quietly. Her world was falling apart.

 **~ SCORPION ~**

Walter's left pinky twitched over the keyboard for an undeterminable amount of time, his anger suddenly growing with every second. _She knew! She knew he loved her, and she still chose_ _ **him**_ _!_

He felt like he couldn't breathe; how could Paige do this to him?! How could she willingly wave Tim around like a trophy and flaunt their relationship IN FRONT OF HIM?! Every time he kissed her, every time Tim had his grimy hands around her as she leaned into him made Walter want to run away and vomit, repeatedly. And just knowing that she _knew_ he loved her made those small, repulsive moments even _more_ revolting.

He had told her in so many words that he loved her, and even though she was speaking through his fantasies, she _still_ told _**him**_ she loved him too. Was all of that, _everything that she said_ , a lie? Was she just lying to him to save his life? He would honestly prefer dying in space because death would have been a much more pleasant experience than the constant pain he had been feeling these past few months.

He had showed her, in his own, strange way, that she meant more to him than anybody. He was always worried about her, concerned for her safety, asking about her day and making sure she was comfortable in everything she was doing. He brought her coffee in the morning and even brewed it with cinnamon because he knew it was what she liked. He thought giving her special treatment was showing her that he loved her, and though he didn't know about his feelings at the time, Paige wasn't an idiot. She _should_ have known, beforehand, that he wanted her in his life despite backing away when they first kissed, despite suggesting for them to stay professional, despite him refuting everything everyone else was saying about how he felt about her.

She should have known.

Granted, he did have a momentary lapse of judgment when he started dating Linda, but his relationship with her was short-lived and made him realize there was only one woman he would ever truly be happy with. But why couldn't Paige see that?! Why couldn't Paige – the one woman who read emotions better than anybody he knew – see that she was his "special person?!"

Was he not obvious enough?!

Before the interloper arrived and destroyed his chances with Paige, she accepted him for who he was, ate fermented fish with him and smiled and laughed at everything he said. He _**thought**_ she had been reciprocating his feelings for her, but after everything that happened lately, he realized he was wrong.

Perhaps she never actually loved him.

Perhaps her words _were_ all a ruse to save him because _**she knew he would listen.**_

Walter flared his nose and clenched his fingers as tight as possible. Paige was in for a rough awakening tonight. Gritting his teeth, Walter sprang from his chair and grabbed his keys before racing towards the car, not caring about the abandoned Baked Alaska he had left on his desk.

He _never_ felt more betrayed.

Any glimmer of hope he had had for salvaging his relationship with Paige was gone, and even if he still loved her, still want to be with her and hold her and wake up with her every morning for the rest of his life, he couldn't have a future with someone he couldn't trust.

He should want to hate her and never want her working for his company again. He should want to place as much distance from her as possible, but no matter what he was currently feeling, a life without Paige Dineen, even if she would never be _his_ , wasn't an option.

He had fallen so hard for her, and he doubted he would ever stop falling, but a romantic relationship with Paige could _**never**_ happen. And he hated himself for ever falling in love in the first place because loving her was too damn painful.

…

It ruined his life.

 **~ SCORPION ~**

* * *

 **This is going to be a two-part story.**

 **The next will have more angst but will end happily, I promise. ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'd like to personally thank lookingforthestars for helping me brainstorm on how to start this chapter! It helped greatly!** **(If you haven't read any of her stuff, READ IT. It's far better than anything I've ever written.)**

 **I was planning on just two chapters, but this chapter is much longer than I ever anticipated so I'm going to split the second chapter into two parts. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **I'm Sorry. I Can't.**

 **Written by WriterFreak001**

 **Part 2**

 **~ S** **CORPION ~**

* * *

Walter didn't even bother locking his car as he jumped out, slammed the door shut and bolted towards the condominium complex. Not even acknowledging the secretary at the front desk, Walter marched towards the elevator and pushed the button repeatedly until the steel door opened with a ding. Needing to talk to Paige as soon as possible, he slipped through the moving door without waiting for it to open fully, and had the lift close before anybody could join him inside. After pressing the first floor button, he leaned against the back of the elevator and covered his face with his hands, pulling on his face gently.

As angry as he was, he knew he couldn't just storm into Paige's condo and begin yelling at her without confirmation and gathering of the facts. He was hoping so much that he was missing something – that he was remembering things outside of context, but… something deeply inside of him told him differently.

He was so certain – when he left the garage – that Paige had flaunted Tim in front of him after knowing his feelings for her, but as he continued to drive to her condo, his anger had subsided a little bit; maybe, if his memories weren't missing anything, if he did _indeed_ remember everything correctly, maybe she had a good reason for ignoring his feelings or for not telling him she knew he loved her. If there was any hope in which he could hold onto, no matter how foolish he was, he was going to hold onto it for as long as he could because he loved her.

But if her reasons weren't good enough, if she had been purposely hurting him, _knowingly_ hurting him without cause, he might – one day – forgive her, but he would never trust her again in spite of forever loving her.

When the elevator finally stopped and made another ding, Walter darted for Paige's condo as if his ass was on fire and firmly knocked on the door three times as he bent over to catch his breath. When she didn't answer, he knocked louder and exclaimed her name loud enough for her to hear, but not too loud to wake her neighbors. He then placed his ear against the door and heard some shuffling accompanied with a soft sniffle. Quiet footfalls approached the door, and he took a step back, waiting for it to swing open.

All of his anger died instantly when she leaned against the doorjamb with puffy eyes and a pink, raw nose. Her cheeks were stained with dark tears from her runny mascara, and she gave him a pained expression as she pulled her periwinkle silk robe together to cover her nightwear. Mindlessly, she tied the sash into a sloppy bow before crossing her arms in front of her chest, waiting for him to say something.

He frowned, aching to reach out and touch her but not sure if he was allowed to anymore.

"What do you want," she finally spoke in a clipped tone, her voice dry and hoarse from the crying she didn't even bother to cover up.

Walter swallowed thickly and opened his mouth to speak before closing it, suddenly unable to remember why he was so angry with her in the first place. He was sure the reason would find its way back eventually, but right now, the love of his life had been crying, and he needed to know why. Walter jammed his hands into his pockets and lowered his shoulders. "It can wait."

"Walter, I'm really not in the mo—"

"Why were you crying?" came his immediate response. Walter stepped closer to her, but she remained where she was, watching him closely. He slowly reached out to curl a loose strand of her hair behind her ear in an attempt to comfort her, but she jerked away from him instantly, avoiding his touch altogether. It was like he was diseased, and she wanted as far away from him as possible. Her sudden need for physical distance pained him deeply. He cautiously followed her inside the apartment and waited for the door to close behind him before questioning her again. "Paige?"

The woman inhaled and exhaled sharply as more tears fell from her eyes; she wiped them away quickly and turned away from him. "It's nothing. I'm fine."

"You're _not_ fine." Walter frowned and slowly walked towards her as she continued to face away from him.

She stood still as he appeared behind her, but she stayed silent, refusing to answer Walter's question.

A soft gasp then escaped from her lips as Walter unexpectedly wrapped his arms around her and enveloped her into a warm embrace, locking his fingers together just below her bellybutton. She immediately found it hard to resist him, closing her eyes and leaning into him.

He smelled nice like pine trees mixed with something spicy, and it was intoxicating. She wanted him to hold her like this forever.

For the longest time, neither of them spoke. They didn't need to. She knew he was comforting her in the only way he knew how, and she appreciated him for it. Maybe she and Walter weren't so far apart after all.

And suddenly, a wave of emotion washed over her but not because of Tim's betrayal. Her nose began to burn as tears dripped from her lashes, and her lips trembled as she tried stifling a sob, unaware that she was shaking in his arms. Walter hugged her tighter, and she automatically twisted around in his embrace before crumpling up his white T-shirt in her palm as she cried against his shoulder.

She had longed to be in Walter's arms for months, and she was scared, horribly scared, she would never feel his embrace again once he learned the truth about space. She planned to tell him before he leaves tonight; she owed him as much.

Walter pulled her closer to him, strongly tightening his arms around her and stood there quietly as she wept, his heart breaking for her. God, he loved his woman too much.

When her cries eventually subsided, she didn't move for a long time, and he kept holding her for as long as she would allow it. "I missed this," she quietly commented after sniffing loudly. "I miss the way we used to be…."

Walter inhaled her sweet scent and, inebriated by everything that was her, mumbled close to her neck, the vibration of his low voice tickling her skin, "I miss us too."

In that moment, he wanted to kiss her. He wanted to sweep her off of her feet and show her… _prove to her_ how much he loved her, but... it wouldn't feel right to make a move on her when she was still dating another man halfway across the world.

As if reading his mind, as if _wanting_ him to kiss her, she muttered in a soft voice, "It's… It's over. Tim… Tim and I are over." A weight was suddenly lifted from Walter's chest, but he decided it was best to keep his sorry-not-sorry comments to himself. Paige instinctively kissed Walter's collarbone and quietly added, "I can't date someone who deliberately cheats on me."

Walter gripped Paige's shoulders and took a step back, holding her at arm's length as he observed her carefully, waiting for her to speak again, but when she didn't, he cocked his head to the left and asked, "Do you want me to go online and erase him?"

Paige gave Walter a small smile but shook her head slowly. "No, don't do that. As much as he deserves it, I don't want my impending wrath to catch you in the crossfire. I handled Drew, and that was almost ten years ago…." She was sounding more like herself as her smile grew as she lightly punched Walter's shoulder, "I can handle Tim."

"I'm… I'm sorry things didn't work out between you two," Walter mumbled, trying to offer her his support, "You," he wanted to cough, "seemed happy with him."

"Ha!" Paige exclaimed rather loudly while taking a step backwards before circling around Walter to plop down onto the sofa. Walter quietly followed her and sat down next to her, placing at least six inches between them. "More like trapped."

Walter blinked. "Trapped?"

Paige's expression suddenly fell, and angled herself towards him, taking his hands into hers and squeezing them. "After Tahoe, I began to realize how boring Tim was, and while part of me wanted out of the relationship, another part wanted me to keep dating him because – in spite of how basic he was – he _did_ make me feel special in some ways, and I wasn't ready to let that go just yet. I know that sounds selfish, but I have been a single mother for almost a decade, and I… well, I don't know… I guess I felt like I deserved to be pampered and worshipped by someone who wasn't afraid to be with me…."

Walter pursed his lips at the slight jab towards him but didn't say anything as she continued.

"Anyway, I was beyond angry with you after Tahoe, and you already know that. Because of what you did…, I didn't think I could trust you again…. But… over a few weeks, things started to return back to normal between us, and I was beginning to trust you again, and when I saw you continuously interacting with Ralph regardless of how strained our friendship was, it made me wonder – if you and I ever had a future together – if we could make things work after all. I slowly began to see an open door to my relationship with Tim again, but I was still too scared of rejection."

Paige inhaled a deep breath and exhaled slowly, hoping Walter wouldn't be angry with her for the next bit she was going to share. She mindlessly laced her fingers with his for added comfort and continued. "When you were launched into space, I refused to accept any reality where you didn't come back home alive. I was willing to do anything it took to bring you home, and Toby asked me to talk to you because he knew you would listen to me." She looked down at their fingers for a brief moment and then flicked her eyes towards him. "W-What do you remember that night?"

Walter exhaled slowly. He could lie to her and tell her nothing to see what she would say, but he knew Paige hated dishonesty so he sided with the truth. "All of it."

Paige blanched a ghostly white. "Are you aware that you were talking to _me_ when you…," she cleared her throat and flushed deeply.

"When I told you I loved you?" Walter watched Paige closely, and she breathed out a yes. Silently, he nodded. "Yes. I am aware. I also remember you telling _me_ you loved me too," he frowned, "I'm assuming that's changed? Or… that it was just a gimmick to bring me back home?"

Paige's nose began to burn as she exhaled softly, tears brimming her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Drawing strength from his warm hand, she flashed her misty eyes at Walter and uttered boldly, "I've never stopped loving you, Walter."

Hearing her response angered him. If she loved him, if she _still_ loved him, THEN WHY WOULD SHE PURPOSELY HURT HIM?! Walter ripped his hand away from Paige and stumbled away from her, placing as much distance from the liaison as possible. "All this time," he threw up his hands and paced in swift circles, "you _knew_ how I felt about you, and even though you _**loved me too**_ , you _**still**_ chose _**Tim**_?!" He was enraged and had never experienced such betrayal before. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as he whipped around and headed for the door before whirling around again, having so much more to say to Miss Dineen. In a much calmer, more venomous voice, Walter frowned. "Before I met you, I was free from all of this pain." He grabbed the door handle and clenched it tightly in his fingers. "If experiencing a broken heart is what it takes to be more human, then, I want no part in it."

Oh, HELL no! Paige's anger bubbled up and erupted. She charged towards Walter and ripped him away from the door faster than he could open it. She slammed it shut and locked it before confronting him.

"You think YOU have a broken heart?! Try being sidelined AGAIN by a man you love for his love for work! I did as you wanted and stayed as professional around you as possible, but even when we were avoiding our feelings, constantly being around you was hard! I felt like I was being abandoned by another important person in my life every single day because no matter how many times you gave me puppy eyes, no matter how many times you would reach out and ache to hold my hand or how you would smile that gorgeous Paige smile, you _never_ took a chance on me!

" _ **Every single fucking day**_ was a broken heart for me, Walter O'Brien! Every. Single. Fucking. Day!" She moved towards him and poked him hard in the chest. Repeatedly. "You do **not** have a right to be mad at me for choosing a different man over you! I gave you plenty of chances to stop me from dating Tim, but you took none of them! So don't you _dare_ complain about having a breaking heart, because, honey," she spat vehemently as she pushed at him in her fury, "I've had a thousand of them when I started loving you!"

Walter was not easily intimidated. He gripped her shoulders and yelled as he slightly shook her, "BUT YOU CHOSE TIM!"

"AND _**YOU**_ CHOSE SCORPION!" Paige shouted, and both of them stood still for several silent seconds, huffing with anger as they held their grounds and stared daringly at each other. Paige was the first to speak as she grabbed his wrist and dragged him towards the door. "I think you should go."

Walter ripped his wrist away from her as if her fingers were on fire, and Paige was pained from his sudden aversion to her touch. "I think you're right."

And when the door slammed behind him, Paige crumbled to the floor and covered her mouth as she cried her eyes out.

…

Walter, deciding the best course of action was _not_ for him to drive that night, shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking home in the dark, unable to keep his silent tears from falling.

 **~ SCORPION ~**

* * *

 **The third part will be posted in the next few days! I have the weekend (mostly) off! :)**

 **Happy New Year! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the delay! Been a busy holiday! I limited my work hours at one of my jobs because I still need my sanity so that should help me have time to update chapters more often if I'm not trying to catch up on some sleep. Heh.**

 **This chapter, ended up going a different direction than I originally was going to take it, so… probably one more (maybe two) chapters after this.**

* * *

 **I'm Sorry. I Can't.**

 **Written by WriterFreak001**

 **Part 3**

 **~ S** **CORPION ~**

Ralph didn't like the tension between his mother and his mentor, and seeing them unhappy – _continuously unhappy_ – made him sick to his stomach. He always thought Walter would one day become his dad because he knew how much his mom loved him, and how much Walter loved her back. Since Tim was out of the picture, Ralph was surprised when Walter didn't jump at the chance to take his mother dancing, but then, after watching them painfully avoid each other for the past week, he realized something must have happened while he was visiting his dad for the weekend.

Though they hardly interacted outside of professional means, Ralph wasn't an idiot. They might be fighting. They might be angry with each other, but if either one of them ever told him they wanted to move on and forget one another, the young genius wouldn't buy it for a second. As if it wasn't obvious, whenever his mother wasn't looking, Walter – if he wasn't busy at his computer and if he wasn't hiding upstairs – would watch her for as long as he could before she noticed. And if Walter was walking by Paige's desk, or if he was heading towards his loft, his mom would follow the older genius with her eyes, aching to follow but never moving from her seat.

What did a kid have to do around here to make his mom and his mentor realize they were meant for each other?! Ralph really didn't believe in fate or serendipity, but he believed that good things happen to good people, and Walter was a _good thing_ for his mom. The same goes in reverse.

In spite of the intellectual gap, they seemed to – or, rather, they _used to_ – understand each other. Even though they've hit a rough patch, if they love each other as much as Ralph believed, they should be able to get through this argument, right? There were no more distractions physically keeping them apart. If they can fall in love once, they can find each other again, surely.

Ralph frowned. He wished he was more apt in understanding the concept of love. If he wanted his mentor and his mother to move in the right direction instead of distancing themselves – again, he was going to need a professional. Someone who could read people very well and manipulate situations undetected.

Ralph suddenly smiled, knowing exactly who to ask.

Pushing away from the kitchen table, Ralph hopped off of his seat and slowly approached this person of interest as she looked up from her phone and gave him a friendly wave. Still grinning, he plopped down beside his grandmother on the red, leather couch and leaned backwards. "So, grandma… Up for some… meddling?"

Veronica's lips curved to a small smirk. "Depends on the meddling."

"Mom and Walter are fighting and have been fighting all week. Though no words are spoken, they hardly look at each other, they maintain their distance as much as possible, and whenever we arrive to the garage in the morning, Walter always goes upstairs to work, and mom doesn't follow. He keeps his door locked now, and when Mom and I go home, she spends her nights crying, and I don't like that." Ralph paused to take a deep breath before continuing.

"Something happened between Mom and Walter, and whatever it was, it's causing a rift in the team whether they realize it or not, and I'm worried for both of them. They're thinner, I think. Mom doesn't eat as much at home, and based on Walter's appearance, I don't think he does either. I think…," Ralph glanced towards the loft where Walter was currently hiding and then glanced at his thumbs as they mindlessly twirled together, "I think if we can at least get them to talk… get them to remember who they once were to each other before Tim came into our lives and destroyed everything that was good, then maybe – at least – they would be on the road to recovery…."

Veronica nodded and hummed in agreement. "I agree. Seeing them interact – or lack thereof – it's incredibly sad, and you're right," she winked, "it _does_ need some meddling."

"You'll help me?!" Ralph was overly pleased.

"Of course, squirt." Veronica combed her fingers through her grandson's hair. "But first, before we get down to the nitty gritty, let's discuss this more in the airstream mini. Your mom could be returning any time from the grocery store, and we don't want her to find out what we're doing. When angry, I've learned that Paige is _certainly_ not someone I'd want to be messing with."

Ralph nodded swiftly and slid off the couch. "Agreed."

…

It had been a successful two hours of non-stop planning with his grandma, and Ralph was very pleased with their progress. Everything was in motion, and all he and Grandma Ronnie needed to do was convince the subjects to meet at a specific place and time without the other knowing; otherwise, the whole operation would fail. Ralph firmly believed there was no room for error.

"All right," Veronica flexed her fingers and cracked her knuckles, since Paige will most likely listen to you, Ralphy, as opposed to me, convince her to take you to 'Final Destination Point A,'" she air-quoted, "and I will work my magic and convince Walter to meet me at 'Final Destination Point B.'"

Ralph gave his grandmother a strong nod. "What if my mom refuses?"

"Throw around the word, 'privacy.'" Veronica shrugged slightly. "She doesn't get a lot of it here these days so it might be nice if you two 'take an evening out' and enjoy yourselves."

Ralph pursed his lips. "And what if she gets mad as we execute Step 3?"

Veronica paused for a moment before smiling. "Hopefully if everything goes well, she'll forget about being angry."

Ralph returned his grandmother's grin, beaming widely. Sometimes hanging out with Grandma Ronnie was fun! "I'll go talk to Mom right now."

"And I'll go talk to Walter." Veronica started for the door but paused to look at her grandson, "Reconvene back here in thirty minutes to go over the rest of the details?"

"You got it!" Ralph issued his grandmother a thumb's up and smirked. "They're not even going to know what's gonna hit them."

As the boy rushed out of the airstream mini, Veronica couldn't help but mutter, "Let's hope it's love."

 **~ SCORPION ~**

Ralph slowed to a stop as he saw his mother glancing towards the loft again; his heart ached for her to be happy again. He stopped walking when she noticed he was behind her. "Hey," she smiled slightly, reaching out to him. "Where have you been, baby?"

"With grandma," Ralph shrugged, walking to her slowly. "I was showing her some neat coding tricks… like how to hack into Netflix and stream free movies for life…. Walter taught me that one…."

"That would explain why I never receive a statement from them anymore…," Paige muttered under her breath, and Ralph tried his best not to grin too much. He then moved closer to her until he was within arm's reach.

"Mom?"

"Yes, baby?" She reached up to smooth down his hair, and he let her.

Ralph frowned, still able to see the dark circles she had tried her best to hide this morning with her makeup. "Why are you sad all of the time?" He pretended not to know about why Tim wasn't in the picture anymore. "Is it because you miss Tim?"

Paige shook her head slowly, her honey-colored hair swishing about her face. "No, honey. I don't miss Tim at all. In fact," he could tell she was trying her best to put on a brave face, "My relationship with Tim is over, and I'm happy I'm not dating him anymore. He and I… we weren't the right fit…."

Her answer seemed to satisfy Ralph, and he didn't need to ask any more questions, but… to ward of her suspicions, he slowly asked, "Do you… want to talk about it?"

"No, not really. I don't want anything to do with him anymore." Paige frowned, and Ralph dropped the Tim subject… in the ocean… where it could drown forever. Paige leaned forward and kissed Ralph's forehead. "All I have and all I need is standing right here in front of me." She gently poked his nose, and he wrinkled it, causing her to giggle. "We haven't done anything in a while… let's do something tonight. Just you and me. You pick. How does that sound?"

Well… that was easier than expected… "Sure," Ralph nodded with a beaming smile.

"Great! It's a date!" Paige pressed loud smooches on both of Ralph's cheeks and his forehead. "Just let me know where you want to go, and we'll make an evening out of it."

Offering a place right away would seem to suspicious so he kept silent. He would need to see how Grandma Ronnie's persuasion with Walter went first before moving along with their plans.

"Between you and me," Paige mumbled quietly in case there were any unwanted listeners around, "I've decided to swear off my romantic life altogether."

Ralph inhaled deeply, not liking her response at all. "W-What?"

"Don't worry about it, Ralphy. You're too young to understand." Paige kissed his cheek before playfully tapping it.

Before he could stop himself, he stammered, "W-what about Walter? I thought… Mom," Ralph needed to be frank, "you love him. I've seen it with my own eyes….," he swallowed thickly, "W-what about him?"

Paige's nose burned as she smiled sadly. "You're right, baby. I _do_ love him. Very, _very_ deeply, but…," she glanced up towards the loft, and her eyes lingered there for a few silent seconds before she returned her gaze to her son, "We're just… we're way too different. We won't be able to make things work… so why bother trying?"

"But…," Ralph was at a loss for words. Was that really what she believed?! Their distance was worse than he thought, and it needed to be remedied as soon as possible; otherwise, the longer this avoidance goes on, the more likely everything between them would become unrepairable. That was _not_ an option.

Everything had a solution; they just needed to find theirs… with a catalyst… and his grandma.

His mother told him never to give up on the things he wanted most in life, why did she think she was the exception to that rule?

"Walter… I can tell… he loves you, Mom. He loves both of us… and he could… I thought…," Ralph paused, needing to compose himself before he blew the entire operation, "He loves you, and you love him…. Why are the both of you making things difficult on yourselves?"

Paige sighed, giving her son a small smirk. "I underestimated you, Ralphy. You understand a lot more grownup things than I realized…," she swiveled her chair until Ralph was standing between her knees. She placed her hands on her son's shoulders and gave him a weak smile. "You're right a lot, Ralph. I do love Walter, and he loves me too, but…," she swallowed the lump in her throat as her nose began to burn again, "we made mistakes… horrible mistakes…, and it's too late to correct them…. I know you mean well, Ralphy, I know you do, but… I'm sorry," a tear fell from her left eye, "I… I can't. I can't keep going through the emotional pain branded with relationships…. I just can't do it anymore."

"But…," Ralph's voice cracked, "he stayed, Mom…." Ralph clenched his fists and tensed, "Through everything – the good and the bad – Walter never abandoned us…."

And as he slowly walked away, he accidentally heard his mother mutter, "Then why does it feel like he's miles away?"

Ralph inhaled deeply, wanting to punch something. _Anything_.

The time to fix things was slipping away faster than he thought, and if things weren't heading in the right direction tonight, he feared he would never have the family dynamic he had always wanted, and that scared him.

 **~ SCORPION ~**

Veronica rolled her eyes as she saw Walter pathetically sitting at his desk and staring at his phone like no tomorrow. She was 99.9% positive the genius was pining over a picture of Paige because why else would a genius with a 197 IQ waste his time moping? He was so focused on his phone that he didn't even hear her pick the lock and slip inside the loft – a talent she had conveniently picked up over the years as a con-artist.

"You know, with how desperate you look, you might as well customize and order a cardboard cutout of my daughter to keep you company rather than ogle at your phone and waste it's battery unnecessarily." Veronica lifted an eyebrow as he sheepishly met her scrutiny, and she frowned. "I know you said you'd win Paige your way, but you actively moping around up here instead of trying to woo my daughter is _not_ how you win a woman's heart."

Walter locked his phone and placed it down on his desk as he sighed and crossed his arms across his chest. He leaned backwards slightly and pursed his lips together. "Paige and I…," he swallowed thickly, "It's never going to happen."

"Never going to happen, my _ass_." Veronica leaned one hip to the side and tapped her foot as though she was waiting for Walter to respond, but he didn't. "You love her. She obviously has the hots for you even after the whole Tim thing blew up in her face, and you're just going to give up?!"

"I'm sorry, but," Walter groaned as he pressed the heels of his hands against his temples, "I can't deal with this right now. Paige and I already discussed the future of our relationship, and guess what?! There's _no_ future." Walter pushed away from his desk chair and stormed to the kitchen to find a mug that hasn't been smashed already this week.

Veronica sighed and realized she needed to approach Walter more like a bunny than a woodpecker. Trying to pound the information out of him wasn't going to work, and if she wasn't more gentle with her delivery, she might ruin things, and the last thing she wanted was to upset her grandson again. "Look," Veronica turned towards him but kept her distance, "I'm sorry if I came down a little too strongly on you…. It's just… I really do love my daughter, and I just _know_ you're what's best for her. Are you absolutely sure distance is the best answer?" Veronica slowly walked towards him and kept silent, waiting for him to answer.

"We… we're too different. She doesn't want someone like me; she wants someone like Tim. She made that pretty clear when she chose to date Tim even _after_ she found out I loved her…. There's obviously no room for in her heart for me because she's always going to choose _the other guy_." Walter sighed into his hands and grumbled incoherently.

"Ouch," Veronica cringed, not realizing how _bad_ the situation was. She bit the left corner of her lip and thought for a moment. "Do you… want to talk about it?"

"Not really…."

"Okay, give me the Cliff's Notes version." Veronica shrugged, and Walter let out a ghostly laugh at her choice of words.

"I remembered something that happened a while back that no one cared to tell me about – something _she_ should have told me about, and when I realized I had confessed my love to her when I was experiencing a severe case of hypoxia, I got incredibly angry because she _knew_ I loved her, and she didn't do or say a damn thing about it. And when I went to ask her about it, we got into this huge argument. I was angry at her for flaunting Tim in front of my face even though she knew how much I felt about her, and she was angry at me for choosing Scorpion instead of taking a risk and dating her. In our anger, we mutually decided – in spite of our feelings – dating was never an option. There's… to much at stake, and… we realized that night… we're just… we don't see the same things eye-to-eye anymore."

"Wow, that's a lot," Veronica let out a huff of breath. "Hmm… so you're both angry and hurt for mistakes the other has made."

"More or less…."

"Are you still angry with her?"

Walter bit his lip. "To be honest? No. I love her; therefore, I'd forgive her for _anything_ , and that's true. But… she's still mad at me, and if I try to talk to her, it'll blow up in my face, just like it always does."

Veronica hummed to herself and leaned over the counter separating her from Walter. "Maybe it doesn't have to…."

"What are you saying?" Walter frowned, unsure he liked where she was going with her thoughts. "I already told you, I don't want to deceive her anymore so… if you think flattery is going to work, then stop right there because I won't make that mistake again."

"Flattery might just be the very thing that'll work in this scenario, but… in a different sense…" Veronica spoke more to herself than to Walter, but the genius gave her a quizzical brow.

"I'm not following."

Veronica blinked, her brain cooking _something_ potentially unpleasant. "You said you chose Scorpion over her, correct?"

"Yes, but she chose Tim over me."

"That's old news, Walter," Veronica rolled her eyes. "Besides, you said you've forgiven her so… get over it. It happened. Sure, you might not like it, but the past is the past, and it's the future that counts right now." Veronica hopped up onto the counter and folded her legs into a pretzel, "Aside from losing Ralph, what is most likely Paige's number one fear?"

Walter thought for a moment. "Abandonment."

"Exactly," Veronica nodded. "And I'm sorry for being the reason she has a hard time trusting people and letting them into her life, but it's a regret I'll have to live with for the rest of my life, but I'm not here to talk to you about me. I'm here to talk to you about your relationship – or lack thereof at the moment – with my daughter." Veronica shifted slightly and smiled a little when she noticed how intrigued Walter was of her idea. "Ralph filled me in about Drew… and Tahoe…, and it seems to me that Paige has been experiencing a non-ending cycle of abandonment for most of her life. Again," she rose up her hand, "I'm sorry for contributing to that unfortunate factor in her life."

She cleared her throat and continued quietly. "Paige loves you," she smiled. "I can see it in her eyes every time she looks at you. In case you haven't noticed, she pines after you too so I don't think she's still mad."

"You… You don't?" Walter shifted his weight and blinked rapidly.

Veronica shook her head. "I think she's hurting, and I think she's afraid of going to you and apologizing because she doesn't want another rejection from you. Paige's heart is in a delicate state right now; Tim cheated on her, and though she may have not loved him like she loves you, being abandoned and tossed aside for another passion still sucks. Her ability to trust anybody – including yourself – is incredibly thin. Maybe… maybe she just needs something to latch onto… something to give her hope that you would never leave her."

"But I haven't left her. I've always been here. She knows that." Walter frowned deeply.

"Physically, yes." Veronica nodded in agreement, "You've always been within arm's reach for her, but… what about emotionally? You two have a big fight – perhaps the biggest fight you've ever experienced with her, and what? You're both going to resolve everything by ignoring each other?! I'm not saying she's perfect and shouldn't own up to her mistakes, but… if you really want to show her you've changed… if you really want her to know you're there for her physically, emotionally and mentally… that you're willing to stay for her in all capacities, then you need to get your butt into gear and do exactly that. Not trying to fight the odds, not trying to fight _for_ her, is what will ruin your chances of ever being with Paige Dineen, so before your window of opportunity closes, I suggest you think long and hard about what you want to say to her and then go to her and tell her she's worth every damn risk that's out there."

Walter pursed his lips. "Even if I want to, I wouldn't know what to say…."

"Then tonight, you and I are going to work on your dating proposal because you absolutely cannot afford to screw up again." Veronica took his hands in hers and squeezed them gently. "Like I said once before," she winked, "I'm going to help you win Paige back."

 **~ SCORPION ~**

"Walter was certainly a piece of work!" Veronica exclaimed quietly as she took a seat next to Ralph in the airstream mini. "I swear, if this plan doesn't work, I'm going to lock them in a car or an elevator or in some small space, and I'm going to throw away the key because this distance thing is absolutely ridiculous." The middle-aged woman sighed. "So," she offered her grandson a small smile, "how were things on your end?"

"Successful, but… things are worse than we originally thought."

Veronica bit the inside of her cheek softly, nodding in agreement. "You can say _that_ again."

 **~ SCORPION ~**

* * *

 **That was a long chapter! Much longer than I thought it would be. As it stands, I'm thinking there will be at least two more chapters. Hopefully no more than 2.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I had fun writing it!**

 **PS. I know many people are conflicted about who is at fault when it comes to Waige not being together, and I think the blame can be directed towards both parties. If it seemed like Ronnie was biased when she was telling Walter to take the high road and show Paige she's worth it, I didn't mean for her words of encouragement to come across that way. Ronnie just needed to find a believable way to convince Walter to meet up with her in the evening so… you know Ronnie, she'll say whatever she needs to in order to get the job done. ^_^**


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